A Time to Fly
by Dakk Tribal
Summary: The life of a sky pirate has its perks, but they don't always last long / Balthier and Fran fluff


Fran opened the window in the room, and right away she knew she had made the right move. How she knew that was because Balthier gave a relaxed sigh.

"Very good Fran, fresh air at last."

The viera's ears twitched in the breeze that followed, "I believe the weather will be most pleasant today."

Balthier kicked back in the chair he sat in, resting his hands behind his head, "You're predicting the weather now Fran?"

She shook her head, "No, just call it a feeling."

Convinced, Balthier closed his eyes, "Very well then I'll trust you on that."

The cohesiveness of the two sky pirates was near perfect and it just showed.

Fran peered outside the large window and saw the rest of Arcadia beginning to come to life as the morning began. The Capital of the Empire it was a bustling city that was as grand as it was deceptive. Despite the authority in place and being the home of the largest empire in Ivalice, it was full of lowly crooks and lesser folk one would not want to be seen with. That reason alone was why Fran was so glad that Balthier had gotten a room in upper Arcadia. Though they were wanted for piracy she knew Balthier had done this mostly because the authorities wouldn't think to look in an expensive hotel for what they believed were mere bandits and scoundrels. It'd be the last place they would look, which gave the pirates a good chance to relax. Fran certainly was, with the white and green sundress she was wearing after she had put her armor on the Strahl.

Balthier was in a similar mood of just relaxing, and he was dressed in brown trousers and his dress shirt was loose on his upper body. He had just woken up with Fran after sleeping for only a few hours. The reason for this was they had nearly been caught near Rabanastre and had to high tail it to a safer location. He thought it had been an irony when Fran suggested hiding out in Arcadia. He thought she was a bit insane but at the same time he thought it was a brilliant idea.

"Well, I suppose we should make up our next move," Balthier thought, trying to run a map through his head at what the two pirates would be doing next.

Fran didn't know to go next, but she knew she would follow Balthier to the ends of the earth. She owed him that much. "We could always head to the plains to the south. There might be something hidden in the caves under the ground."

"Hm, I'm not too sure...maybe we should take a break from sky pirating altogether and just enjoy ourselves for awhile," he said, sitting up straight in the chair as Fran made her way to stand behind the chair.

"Getting bored of this game, Balthier?"

"Of course not, Fran. I was just thinking it would give us a bigger breather, not to mention give the authorities a chance to think they scared us off," he chuckled. He felt Fran place a hand on his shoulder.

"If that's the case, I think we should take it while we feel like it. But, as much great as an exquisite hotel is, I'd like to go somewhere that has more natural beauty."

Placing his hand on top of her own, Balthier felt he knew where this was going, "I know you still miss your home, Fran."

"Not really," she replied quickly.

"There's no shame in hiding that Fran, we all miss home every once in awhile. Some more than others."

"Do you miss being a noble here in Arcadia then?" She asked.

"By the Gods, no, I hate this place," he retorted, which made Fran smile lightly. "Father was more aloof than anything and then he just drowned himself in his work. I tried to please him but it didn't matter. I'm glad I left this place."

Fran sighed at the sound of Balthier mentioning his father. "While I do not miss the village, I do miss my sisters Jote and Mjirn. That was the hardest part of leaving was when I left them behind. Houses come and go, but family..."

"Family is forever," he finished for her, and subsequently she felt his hand tighten its grip on hers, a comforting gesture.

She felt his lips gracefully touch the skin of her hand, and she appreciated him cheering her up.

The large clock overlooking the fireplace in the room began to chime, and that must have been a signal to Balthier because he cleared his throat and stood up. "Well, I'd say we better get to it then."

Not knowing what he meant by that, Fran watched as Balthier moved back into the bedroom they had shared during the night. "You ordering breakfast or something?"

"Not exactly," Balthier brought a couple of their bags into the room and set them on the couch. At the same time he did that, the door knob leading out into the hall started to turn but it was locked from the inside.

A voice on the other side was heard, "Who's in there!?"

Fran gave Balthier a look that seemed to ask that he explain himself.

The sly pirate pointed at the door and said, "That would be our call to leave. Be a dear and help with the bags, please."

Shaking her head at her partner's words, Fran grabbed the first three bags and brought them to the window leading to the stairs which instantly lead to the roof. She was also glad that she hadn't gotten too comfortable staying in the hotel room. "Let me guess, you didn't exactly acquire this room legally did you?"

"I said I got us a room, I didn't say I paid for it. This place is overpriced as it is," he said as he brought the final bag out and closed the door leading to the bedroom behind him. He had to be polite, which was one of his traits that Fran enjoyed. A gentleman pirate to the core.

The knocking at the door was now thunderous as Fran could hear the chinking of armor outside. "Seems they got soldiers with them now."

"Honestly I am surprised that they didn't find us sooner. We made plenty of noise last night," Balthier said as he tossed the bags into the fire escape. "To be fair, it was mostly because of me."

"Don't flatter yourself. I contributed a great deal of it myself," Fran said, climbing out the window first, and Balthier got out just as the door to the room got broke down and in came three imperial soldiers armed with swords and guns.

Too bad Balthier shut the window before they could reach him, and before they could even get out of the window with their gear he and Fran were long gone to far off lands.

* * *

A/N: This was rather difficult to write since I've never seen these two as more than partners in crime, but hey it was part of the challenge (which also explains any errors found here). Can't wait to play the remaster that will be released in July 2017.


End file.
